A
system and method for enhancing e-commerce using a
natural language interface. The
natural language interface allows the user to formulate a query in a
natural language form, rather than in conventional
search terms. The natural language interface provides the user with a "
user friendly" interface. The natural language interface can process a query even if there is not an
exact match between the user formulated
search words and the content in the
database. Furthermore, the natural language interface is capable of
processing misspelled queries or queries having
syntax errors. The method for enhancing e-commerce using a natural language interface comprises the steps of accessing a
user interface provided by a
service provider, entering a query using a natural language interface, the query being formed in a natural language,
processing the query by the natural language interface, searching a
database using the processed query, retrieving results from the
database, and providing the results to the user. The
system for enhancing e-commerce on
the Internet comprises a
user interface for receiving a query in a natural language form, a natural language interface coupled to the
user interface for
processing the query, a
service provider coupled to the user interface for receiving the processed query, and one or more databases coupled to the user interface for storing information, wherein the
system searches the databases using the processed query and provides the results to the user through the user interface.